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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness out on Blu-ray/DVD September 10th [spoiler

OneBuckFilms wrote:

Seamless branching might not fit on the disc without decreasing quality. It's 20 minutes longer than the movie, and based on the IMAX alternating ratio that was decided against (possibly to reproduce what most people saw at the cinema, rather than the relatively low number who saw the IMAX release).

It should also be pointed out that it was likely made at 720p.

I'm not an expert, but many other Blurays are able to hold more than the 2.5 hours on this STID release. According to a quick google search, standard Bluray can hold over 8 hours of HD video, so I doubt expanded the release to 3 hours to include the commentary (or even 4-4.5 hours to include all of the special features ) would be much of a problem. And hey, if it is an issue, release a 2-disc BR edition like almost every other high profile movie does...

Can I watch the variable aspect ratio version from iTunes without the commentary? Is the digital copy that comes with the Blu-ray the same as the stand-alone iTunes version?

So far, I've had two movies whose iTunes digital copy was in HD (all the rest are in SD, which is fine for an iPad or even a laptop, but not on my projector screen). I would like the variable aspect ratio version if possible (I quite enjoy that on my Dark Knight/Rises BDs) but not if it is only in SD quality. In that case, I don't really care.

Can I watch the variable aspect ratio version from iTunes without the commentary? Is the digital copy that comes with the Blu-ray the same as the stand-alone iTunes version?

The digital download will give you the stand-alone iTunes version of the film, yes. The commentary track (with the variable aspect ratio) is a separate download, and a separate encoding of the film - and it's not available without the commentary audio.

Can I watch the variable aspect ratio version from iTunes without the commentary? Is the digital copy that comes with the Blu-ray the same as the stand-alone iTunes version?

The digital download will give you the stand-alone iTunes version of the film, yes. The commentary track (with the variable aspect ratio) is a separate download, and a separate encoding of the film - and it's not available without the commentary audio.

That stinks (but thank you for the information). It's not a deal breaker (I value the film over the special features) but I was hoping they would take a cue from the Dark Knight films re: variable aspect ratio.

Re: Star Trek Into Darkness out on Blu-ray/DVD September 10th [spoiler

Data's Cat wrote:

I'm VERY happy with my selection! I'm on a tight budget and I don't need the extras.

Can't wait until I get my movie delivered to the door on Tuesday!

I hope you understand that your budget isn't pertinent to the issue because it would almost certainly have been the same price whether it had the complete set of extras or not. That's why we feel cheated - we would have to pay more to buy them all from the various retailers when they should have been on a single disk.

And according to Bill Hunt of DigitalBits.com, there's little reason now to deny that Paramount made a mistake because they seem to coming around to that conclusion for themselves:

Bill Hunt wrote:

And the frustrating thing is now, what’s going to have to happen is, and what will probably happen, I don’t think this was originally the plan. I don’t think there was a double-dip in mind here. I think Paramount and the marketing folks at Paramount thought this disc would satisfy people, especially when you consider there’s the 3D Combo SKU – that is 3D/2D/DVD. Usually, that’s the one that has all the extras. They certainly had time to put all that together. I don’t think they were planning a double-dip, but see now, what’s going to have to happen is because they’ve pissed off so many fans, they’re probably going to revisit the title and actually do a true special edition on Blu-ray. But now, all the fans are going to go, “Ah see, you screwed us. They were going to double dip us all along.” I honestly don’t think there was a plan to do that. I really think a lot of the marketing people at Paramount just didn’t have any idea that people wouldn’t be thrilled with this release. I think they were thinking this was going to be super-deluxe, super-special, and people are going to love it. I don’t think they had any clue.

...I’ve been told that they've got the message and I’m continuing to talk with them, so I’m hoping to see some real action and that they’re going to take some serious action and I’m hoping that Paramount is going to make some efforts to appease the Star Trek fans and the Blu-ray fans that they really upset with this release somehow. I’m trying to kind of talk with them about what those options might be.

Mr. Hunt has previously said that the people at Paramount who really understood the market have moved on and Paramount is now full of people fresh out of business school who don't have a clue about what they're selling and who they are selling it to. He has also said that the physical package marketing is suffering because of the internal push for online streaming. He considers this premature and a big mistake for numerous reasons.

Re: Star Trek Into Darkness out on Blu-ray/DVD September 10th [spoiler

Data's Cat wrote:

Your sympathy is futile. I'm still happy.

You are under the influence of Omicron Ceti III spores. Snap out of it. On the other hand, you are probably extremely spontaneous, adaptable, cooperative, and easy to please and get along with. Tough choice. I'm not sure which way to go with this.